Braving the commute

A recent Wednesday, 2:39 p.m.:
“I know it’s kind of morbid, but if I was to guess how I was going to die, it will probably be on the bike.”
Caycee Cullen, a 39-year-old research assistant at UCSF, rides her bike from her apartment on 15th Street in the Mission to her office at Sixth and Market streets. She’s been commuting on two wheels for 17 years, one of tens of thousands of San Franciscans who brave the city streets each day — their final destination being work.
Like any daredevil activity, it’s an adrenaline rush. Cullen is focused by the time she gets to work, her blood pumping from a 10-minute ride that finishes with 10 hair-raising blocks down Market Street.
Aside from their hard-foam and plastic helmets, Cullen and her fellow riders are largely defenseless as they cruise their bikes through a sea of buses and preoccupied motorists.
“You’re kind of a small cog in a big machine when you ride in traffic,” said John McDonell, co-owner of Market Street Cycles. “You have to respect the differences so you don’t get squashed.”
In recent years, the city has encouraged riding by leaving welcome mats in the form of bike lanes, including on part of Market Street. Longtime riders like Cullen have plenty of new company — recent surveys by the Municipal Transportation Authority show a 71 percent ridership increase in the past five years.
At the end of the day, the workday stress melts away the second Cullen’s foot pushes the pedal. The commute direction changes — now it’s heading away from downtown and into the setting sun, which illuminates the treacherous Muni tracks and guides her safely home.
“The bicycle is freedom to me,” Cullen said. “It changed my life, and it changed my lifestyle. If it’s my time to go, I must admit I will be happy riding my bike.”